Storms of life happen. Every person reading this has either faced a storm, is about to encounter a storm or perhaps is in the midst of a storm. Jesus told his disciples that in this world they would experience tribulation. Storms come to every life, they come when least expecting them and, most of the time, they remain unexplained.
Storms of life happen. Every person reading this has
either faced a storm, is about to encounter a storm or perhaps is in
the midst of a storm. Jesus told his disciples that in this world they
would experience tribulation. Storms come to every life, they come when
least expecting them and, most of the time, they remain unexplained.
No matter how many storms we encounter, there is one
question with which we usually grapple: Why do storms occur? I would
like to suggest some answers to that question.
One reason storms come into our life is to test the
validity of our faith. James tells us“to count it all joy” when we go
through trials because they prove the genuineness of our faith. A
storm, no matter how severe, cannot destroy genuine faith.
To help wean us from relying on the world is a
second reason storms enter our life. Storms have a way of stripping
away all of our worldly … [Read more...]

Every day thousands of young women ask one of the most important questions of their lives. The question comes in the midst of a crisis pregnancy. “What am I going to do now?” Unfortunately, many choose abortion.
Every day thousands of young women ask one of the
most important questions of their lives. The question comes in the
midst of a crisis pregnancy. “What am I going to do now?”
Unfortunately, many choose abortion.
Abortion is the leading cause of death in America.
Every day in the United States between 3,000 and 4,000 babies lose
their lives to abortion. In some areas of the country abortions
outnumber live births. In Louisiana over 13,000 abortions are performed
every year.
Thankfully, many thousands of young women facing the
aforementioned question make their way to Christian crisis pregnancy
counseling centers where they find a place of help and hope.
Louisiana Baptists have such a place in Sellers Maternity Home.
Cara came to Sellers at age 13. Her pregnancy was
the result of child abuse. Some of her family members wanted her to
have an abortion, but she decided even before coming to Sellers that
she was going to give her baby life. Cara delivered a healthy and
beautiful baby boy who was … [Read more...]

PINEVILLE – A lawsuit filed by four Louisiana College professors has been set for trial.
By Karen L. Willoughby
Managing Editor
PINEVILLE – A lawsuit filed by four Louisiana College professors has been set for trial.
Ninth Judicial District Judge Rae Swent ruled in
late June that a lawsuit alleging loss of academic freedom and
emotional distress filed by two current and two former LC professors
can go to trial.
“The defendants had filed a number of exceptions and
the court either denied them or referred them to the merits – said they
would be addressed at the time of trial,” said Vic Sooter, attorney for
LC professors Carlton Winbery (retired since December 2004), Fred
Downing (recently resigned to be chairman of the philosophy and
religion department at Valdosta State University in Georgia), James
Heath and Connie Douglas.
The legal action names Louisiana College, Leon
Hyatt, Joe Aguillard, Allan Shoemaker, Amy Russell and Louisiana
Inerrancy Fellowship as defendants. It alleges breach of contract,
defamation, negligent infliction of emotional distress, intentional
infliction of emotional distress, breach of academic freedom, and
violation of bylaws and the faculty handbook in effect at the … [Read more...]

NEW ORLEANS – A five-alarm blaze destroyed historic Coliseum Place Baptist Church in New Orleans, the oldest Baptist building in the city.
By Keith Manuel
Regional Reporter
NEW ORLEANS – A five-alarm blaze destroyed historic
Coliseum Place Baptist Church in New Orleans, the oldest Baptist
building in the city.
Although an official cause of the fire has not been reported, neighbors believe arson to be the cause.
Police searched the red brick Gothic Revival styled
church two weeks before because of a report of vagrants living in the
building, according to neighbor George Bean. An anonymous official with
the city confirmed that vagrants had been reported to be using the
building. The same source speculated that the fire could have been set
through the vagrants cooking food on an open fire or with candles. A
similar situation resulted in two 100-year-old wharfs being destroyed
in the city weeks earlier.
Firefighters received the call at 1:38 a.m. and used
27 units and 87 firefighters to put out the blaze. The fire was so
intense that twelve hours after the initial call firefighters were
still battling hotspots at the church.
Coliseum Place, built in 1854, has seen its share of
hardship. During the … [Read more...]

DUBACH – Pastor Connie Smith may be confined to a wheelchair, but his congregation has never considered his disability a hindrance to their leader’s ministry.
By Brian Blackwell
Staff Writer
DUBACH – Pastor Connie Smith may be confined to a
wheelchair, but his congregation has never considered his disability a
hindrance to their leader’s ministry.
“Since Brother Connie has been here, we don’t even
notice that he has a limitation,” Deacon William Green said of their
pastor, who was called to Fellowship Baptist Church in Dubach last
month. “His good qualities outweigh that.”
Before Smith became pastor at Fellowship
Baptist, Connie Ward said the congregation was struggling with
transition. Since then, Fellowship Baptist and Smith have been the
perfect fit for one another.
“The people’s attitude toward Connie (Smith) is what
Fellowship Baptist is all about,” Ward, pastor of Zion Hill Baptist
Church in Farmerville, explained. “To see God bring these two together
has been a joy to my heart.”
Smith’s journey to Fellowship Baptist is an amazing
story indeed. If not for an accident on July 11, 1971, Smith may never
have entered into the ministry.
A former draft pick of the San Francisco … [Read more...]

OBERLIN – It’s not been easy but two women, one from a large Louisiana church; the other from a smaller one, each followed her husband into early retirement and volunteer ministry. They both say they’ve been blessed beyond every expectation.
By Karen L. Willougbhy
Managing Editor
OBERLIN – It’s not been easy but two women, one from
a large Louisiana church; the other from a smaller one, each followed
her husband into early retirement and volunteer ministry. They both say
they’ve been blessed beyond every expectation.
Ivy (Mrs. Jim) Wyble of Cedar Crest Baptist Church in Baton Rouge used
to work at a credit union; Susan (Mrs. Steve) Hayes of Amite Baptist
Church in Denham Springs is a former church secretary. Their husbands
knew they were being called into construction ministry; the wives only
knew they were called to support their husbands.
“I felt very unneeded,” Wyble said. Then God let her
know, while watching a video about the Georgia Barnette Mission
Offering, that her ministry would involve sewing with other woman –
Wyble has been crocheting for perhaps 30 years.
“It is so exciting how God worked everything out in
perfect timing,” Wyble said. “I met the women on the video; one of them
told … [Read more...]

BALTIMORE (BP) – Though frail and ailing, 87-year-old Billy Graham delivered a strong message of hope to more than 33,000 people gathered in Baltimore’s Camden Yards during the last night of a July 7-9 Metro Maryland Festival.
By Shannon Baker
Baptist Press
BALTIMORE (BP) – Though frail and ailing,
87-year-old Billy Graham delivered a strong message of hope to more
than 33,000 people gathered in Baltimore’s Camden Yards during the last
night of a July 7-9 Metro Maryland Festival.
“Unfortunately, I’m getting too old to do this, and
I thought on my way out, this may be the last opportunity to preach to
an audience like this,” said the elder Graham, who was driven to the
platform in a golf cart.
In a historic moment for Marylanders, the evangelist
shared the stage with longtime crusade associates Cliff Barrows, now
83, and George Beverly Shea, now 97, in vintage crusade fashion,
offering a clear grasp of the Gospel of Jesus Christ through messages
and songs.
The trio has ministered twice before in Baltimore,
most recently in 1981 and in 1949, the year that Graham’s signature
crusade ministry first garnered national attention.
It was then that Graham’s famous Los Angeles tent
meetings catapulted … [Read more...]

PINEVILLE – Donahue Family Church has begun enrolling students for the inaugural fall semester for the Louisiana Baptist congregation’s school, Cenla Christian Academy.
By Brian Blackwell
Staff Writer
PINEVILLE – Donahue Family Church has begun
enrolling students for the inaugural fall semester for the Louisiana
Baptist congregation’s school, Cenla Christian Academy.
“From a Christian standpoint, public schools are
getting progressively more secular,” said Glen Whatley, school
administrator and worship pastor at Donahue Family Church. “We decided
to be proactive and give our students a biblically-based, high-quality
education.
“We’re not doing this to say that schools in Rapides
Parish are bad,” Whatley continued. “But we will provide smaller
classes, discipline and biblically-based curriculum.”
Classes for students in kindergarten through grade
eight will be located in the Family Life Center at Donahue Family
Church.
Whatley said one unique feature is a video monitoring system inside
each classroom. This digital video camera allows parents to access
their child’s classroom via the Internet through the use of a security
code.
Orientation Day for all students is Aug. 10. The
first day of … [Read more...]

Week of July 17, 2006
Baltimore named Strategic Focus City
BALTIMORE, Md. (BP) – Though the signing and
celebrating of the covenant still needs to take place, it’s official:
Baltimore will become the North American Mission Board’s newest
Strategic Focus City. Darrel Davis, ministry assistant for Crossover
Triad 2006 for the Baptist Convention of North Carolina, said some
2,000 Crossover Triad volunteers played a part in the more than 800
salvation decisions made during the combined Crossover and ICE
initiatives, and that 26 new churches will be planted because of the
effort.
Baltimore Baptist Association pastors officially
have agreed to NAMB’s November 2005 invitation to form a partnership to
focus national resources in local church evangelism and church planting
efforts in the Baltimore area.
The actual launch of the Strategic Focus City strategy in Baltimore is scheduled for 2008 or 2009.
The first two Strategic Focus cities, Chicago and
Phoenix, implemented their strategic plans in 2000. They were followed
by Las Vegas and Boston in 2001, Seattle and Philadelphia in 2002,
Miami in 2003-2004 and New York City in 2003-2005. Cleveland, Ohio, the
newest city, currently is being implemented as a … [Read more...]

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Editorial

By Steve Horn
Corinth was by all historical accounts a very wicked place. When Paul established a church there, he was establishing a church in the midst of one of the most difficult cities of his day.
When we move to the letters called 1 and 2 Corinthians, we realize that the struggle in Corinth continued. … Continue Reading.